


Fire Emblem: Three Ranches [ON HIATUS]

by lalahss



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Enemies to Lovers, Many References To Christianity Because The Church of Seiros Is Presbyterian, Multi, Overprotective Church, Parallels to High School Musical 2, Secret Relationship, Summer Vacation, Suppressed Homosexual Feelings, parental angst, ranch au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-30 23:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21436681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalahss/pseuds/lalahss
Summary: The Ranch AU nobody asked for! [THAT'S ON HIATUS]Edelgard and Hubert, on vacation, employ various students from Fodlan High School to help keep their farm running smoothly, while Dimitri and the Blue Lions try to fund their spring break trip, and the Golden Deer get summer jobs at Claude's family ranch.However, the Presbyterian Church of Seiros has nothing better to do with their time than poke their nose where it doesn't belong. Unfortunately, they see the three ranches as a breeding ground for all sorts of ungodlike behaviour. Will anyone be able to handle the heat this summer?Updates will be sporadic- sorry!
Relationships: Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Claude von Riegan, others to be revealed over time
Kudos: 30





	1. Welcome To Fodlan County

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I've been wanting to write this AU for a long time, and I know full well that this AU is going to take a long time to actually finish. That being said, hopefully I'll be able to churn out chapters quickly! I can already feel this going downhill...
> 
> Rating is subject to change! If Lorenz and Claude get their way, there will likely be a fair bit of M-rated content.

“With temperatures regularly soaring above 90 degrees Farenheit, make sure you’re staying hydrated and protected from the sun!” The radio host chirped as she went through the weather report. “Magvel County, you’ve got a sunny sunny high of ninety-five degrees, Ylisse County, you’re at the high-high high of ninety-nine, and Fodlan County takes the hottest high of the day, at one-hundred-and-one degrees!”

Edelgard sighed as the announcer began to talk about more banal topics, and turned to Hubert, her best friend. “Goddess. Just what we need, temperatures so high we can’t even open the doors.”

“We have air conditioning,” Hubert noted, “and the spring out back if we want to chance it…”

“There is no way I want to see Dimitri or Claude on a day as hot as this.”

“Fair, fair.” Hubert went over to the fridge, and pulled out some oranges, tossing one to Edelgard. “Eat. It’s only going to get hotter out there, and I don’t want you roasting alive.”

“Thanks.” She started peeling as Hubert started making some granola. “Do you know when the farmhands are coming out from their rooms?”

“I’d hope soon, but Bernadetta and Caspar are on milking so they’ll be up.”

“Good, I’m glad it’s not Linhardt.” Edelgard laughed, and Hubert grinned between pours. “That guy sleeps a lot.”

“I’m not sure why he’s here, but it works out nicely for our families to have plenty of farmhands. At least we don’t need to invite him back if he’s been a bother.”

“He’s not as much of a bother as…” Edelgard wrinkled up her face as she remembered one of the farmhands, a gregarious annoyance named Ferdinand. 

“You’re pretty for a country gal!” he said as he greeted her on his first day, and she had immediately resolved to ignore him for the rest of the summer. Unfortunately, everything she did he had to prove he could do better.

Swing on the rope? “I can flip off!” Milk the cows? “I can do them real fas- ow!” Healing the bruise where the cows kicked him due to his insensitive milking? “I have an antidote my parents taught me when I was younger!” Not looking like an idiot with a bruise? The list went on, and on, and on. And it had only been two weeks of summer at the ranch.

“Oh look, there he is.” She turned around, to see unsurprisingly, Ferdinand von Aegir. The “von Aegir” bit annoyed her, as he’d constantly say it as if it proved he was any better a person than her. She didn’t go about yelling her last name, so why should he? Behind him were two of the other farmhands, Petra and Dorothea. They were both nice enough, but Petra was on exchange from Mexico and as a result didn’t speak a lot of English. Luckily, she was keen to learn, which was great for Edelgard and Hubert as they both took shop electives instead of Spanish at high school. Dorothea however would sing whenever she could, and it grated on Edelgard somewhat. At least Caspar and Bernadetta were more agreeable, even if Caspar mostly avoided her and Bernadetta ran away in fright most of the time. And Linhardt… he was lazy, but at least he got on with everyone.

“Edelgard and Hubert!” Ferdinand opened the rickety sliding door, and Hubert motioned for him to shut it. “Ooh, it’s cool in here!” His shirt was already stuck to his skin, and Edelgard wondered if she should be the one to tell him to take a shower.

“Yes, that’s because we turned on the AC. Did you do it at the boarding house?”

“Uh…” He frowned. “I’m pretty sure, I’ve been out milking this morning though so I could be wrong.”

“And why was that, pray tell?”

“Bernadetta was too scared to fall asleep last night, so I volunteered to do the milking this morning for her.”

“I hope you didn’t get kicked by any cows,” Hubert noted. “Your bruise still looks a lovely eggplant color.”

“And you still look as pale as ever, although I guess it’s too much for you to help out on your own farm.” Ferdinand turned around and shut the door, as Edelgard sighed.

“Can we have a day without fighting?”

“If Hubert decides to leave the house, I guess?”

“I have vacation assignments I’m meant to do for college next year,” Hubert hissed. “Pre-med isn’t a walk in the park, you see.”

“Guys! Chill!” Edelgard shouted, standing up between them. “Seriously. Can we please get along?”

“For you? Yes.” Hubert gave Ferdinand an icy look.

“Well, yeah. You’re fine Edelgard.” Ferdinand went over to the sink, staring daggers at Hubert as he walked. “You garden, and you’ve got a nice tan now.”

“Thanks.”

“No worries,” Ferdinand replied, ignoring Edelgard’s clipped response. “I’ll be heading out soon, want me to call everyone over?”

“Please.” Edelgard mustered up a smile, and as Ferdinand turned around he beamed back. Edelgard couldn’t deny the guy was sweet, but he was also a pain in the neck. Maybe it was because he was from the “suburbs” to the west of the Fodlan township, maybe it was his happy-go-lucky charm, who knew? All she knew was that this competitive guy was always getting on her nerves. Hubert seemed to be annoyed too, but his face was red and fists clenched. She reached her hand over to his once Ferdinand had turned around, and patted it. Hubert gave her a thankful look, and smiled at her. His smiles were rare, but for her he seemed to be filled with them. She smiled back, and then noticed Petra opening the door.

“Good morning!” She greeted, and Dorothea smiled behind her. 

“Good morning indeed!” Dorothea ushered Petra inside, and then shut the door. “Bernie’s on her way, barely slept a wink last night but hey! What can you do? Linhardt’s leaving with her, mostly because she’s not getting up any time soon, and because he wanted to read his book.”

“Shall I hurry her up?” Ferdinand asked.

“Please!” Dorothea laughed. “And Caspar’s showering so he’ll be here soon.”

“Whoops, forgot to do that!” Ferdinand laughed, downing a glass of water.

“I could smell,” Hubert replied dryly.

“Be right back!” As he exited, Petra laughed and Dorothea gave her a “ssh” motion. They both giggled, and Edelgard sighed.

“They’re good friends, aren’t they?” Hubert noted, eyeing them.

“Yeah,” Edelgard responded. “Can’t say I’ve had any girlfriends like that.”

“Is it because I’m always around?”

“Heh, you’re practically glued to me. Remember your first day at Garreg Mach?” Hubert and Edelgard attended the ‘Garreg Mach Monastery Academy,’ a little ways outside of town, and Hubert’s fears on the first day of school led to them both being inseparable. Their parents being best friends only made them more clingy, what with the barbecues and road trips around the States, and they were soon best friends for life.

“Unfortunately.” Hubert grinned again, and Edelgard smiled back. “And speaking of unfortunately…”

“H-h-h-hello!” A bumbling Bernadetta made her way inside. “I’m so sorry about this morning…”

“It’s fine,” Edelgard said with a sweep of her hand. “Work out when your next milking session is with Ferdinand, alright?”

“O-okay!” She looked perturbed, and Edelgard pitied her somewhat. To be so afraid of everything…

“Good morning Edelgard,” Linhardt said in his usual lethargic drawl as he slipped in behind her.

“Good to see you up and about,” Edelgard commented. “Where’s Caspar?”

“On his way, Ferdinand woke us up quite… vigorously.”

“He was already awake, right?”

“I don’t know… I thought I was about to die, truth be told.”

Edelgard sighed. “Well… okay. Right.” She looked out the door, and saw Caspar and Ferdinand coming over. “Okay everyone! I’ll be assigning the tasks for today, and I hope you’re all ready for the one oh one degree weather.”

“Oh no…” Linhardt groaned, as Bernadetta blanched. 

“Oh goodness,” Dorothea said quietly. “It’s not usually this hot, right?”

“Unlike the suburbs, you don’t have any trees here to protect you from the sun,” Hubert said a bit smugly. “You’ll cope though. We have.”

“You’re inside all the time,” Ferdinand said slyly as he came through the door. “I doubt you’ve had to cope that much.”

“Plus, the suburbs actually don’t have that many trees,” Caspar added. “There’s like… two. Sometimes three.”

“Caspar, please. There’s easily four.” Dorothea giggled, and the farmhands laughed with her.

“Anyway!” Edelgard shouted, trying to regain control of the room. “Caspar, Bernadetta– you’re on stables duty. Petra, Ferdinand– you’re going to be fixing any fences that look broken. Dorothea, you’re going to be doing a count of how much food the cows need, and Linhardt, you need to go out and buy some more hay.”

“Why on earth are you putting Linhardt on his own?” Hubert whispered.

“I was thinking you could go with him, and get some oil for the tractor.”

“Ah, good plan. Wait–”

“And with that, be back at 11 for lunch!” Edelgard went over to the fridge. “I’ve got water for y’all, so please stay hydrated.”

“Okay!” Caspar said cheerfully. “Come on Bernie!”

“Oooh… okay…” Bernadetta nervously made her way out, followed by Petra and Ferdinand. 

Linhardt was about to sneak out the door, but Hubert caught him by the arm as he tried to escape. “Oh!”

“I’m coming too. Need some tractor things.”

“Ah… okay…”

“So no napping. Got it?”

“Got it, yes,” Linhardt said noncommittally.

“Excellent.”

As everyone went off, Edelgard went over to the farm office, and shut the door. Finally, some quiet. She pulled out the reports Dorothea and Petra had made of farm machinery the previous day, and proceeded to log them into the computer, row after row and column after column. The work was menial, but good. She loved the feeling of a complete database, and order. The kids from the suburbs might’ve been chaotic, but in her office, she could feel peace.

The landline suddenly rang, and she pulled the yellowed receiver to her ear from its cradle next to the computer. “Hello?”

“Good day Edelgard, it’s Lambert here.”

“Hello Lambert! How are you?” Edelgard smiled as she turned around in her office chair. Lambert owned the farm next to her families’, and even though his son was a royal pain Lambert himself was very kind.

“Excellent, thank you! It’s a scorcher of a day though, isn’t it?”

“Positively fiery. Is everything alright?”

“Oh, not really! One of Dimitri’s friends got lost in the forest between our properties, and we were wondering if you could try and find him?”

“Oh…” Edelgard said disdainfully. “Uh, I mean… I can do that, yes. Shall I drive them back afterwards?”

“Yes please, if you wouldn’t mind! And don’t worry, Dimitri will call you if he finds him first.”

“Oh… Yes, that’s fine.” Edelgard rolled her eyes. 

“Thanks! We’ll give you a little something if you can find him.”

“Sure. See you soon!”

“Bye Edelgard!”

She hung up the phone, and let out an almighty “hrrrnnnngggh.” Of course Dimitri would be out there! She stood up, grabbed her phone, and went outside. The air was wavy, and she realised she’d underestimated the heat the minute she’d gone out. Her denim shorts were suddenly caked with sweat, and her top felt wet and uncomfortable. No matter. She got onto her quad bike, and set for the forest between their properties.

The forest itself was spread across the corner between her farm, the farm of the Blaiddyd family, the Riegan family ranch, and the Presbyterian Church’s farm. It sounded funny, but the minister of the local church lived there with the farmhands who helped out at services, and they mostly kept to themselves. It wasn’t as if Edelgard was traipsing across there constantly to know what was happening, but it was bordered by the other two farms and as such it was out of Edelgard’s interest.

She dismounted the bike once she’d made it to the entrance of the forest, and walked in. The air was cooler beneath the trees, but she could still feel the heat in each sunbeam that missed the leaves above her. She meandered, and then heard a rustle. She went quiet, and tiptoed over to the bush it appeared to be coming from. It was a distance away, but she knew she could sneak up on whatever it is. If it was a rabbit, she’d coo and let it go. If it was the missing boy, she’d pick him up and run him back to the Blaiddyd farm and get whatever prize Lambert was offering. If it was Dimitri himself…

She pushed on quietly, not wanting whatever it was to notice her. At least it seemed to be preoccupied with whatever it was doing. As she approached the bush, she suddenly saw a hand leap out, and pull her out from under herself.

“H-Hey!!!” Edelgard shouted, kicking out with her other leg rather idiotically, she realised. She was falling and then another arm reached out to grab her. “You dumba-”

“Edelgard?” The voice was deep, and she frowned. Young men didn’t get lost in forests, did they?

“How dare you!” She kicked the bush again, and heard a “ngh!” from inside. “If you’re the missing boy, I should leave you here!”

“First of all, Ashe isn’t that young, and second, why the hell do you know Ashe got lost?” A head poked out, and Edelgard both glared and blushed.

It was indeed, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. Complete idiot, self absorbed ass, and completely un-handsome young man. “Your father, for your information, asked me to come out here and find him.” She hissed under her breath after, “and it’s probably because you’re too thick to find him.”

“What did you just say to me?” Dimitri leaped out of the bush, and Edelgard frowned crossly at him.

“Nothing.”

Dimitri had indeed had a growth spurt in the week or so since summer had begun. That, or she hadn’t seen him over the last few weeks of school. He was lanky, but tall, and his chest was covered in sweat. He’d clearly given up on wearing much in the heat, and was wearing a pair of khaki pants so sweaty that it looked as if he’d sat in eight different puddles all on different parts of his leg. Wait… why was Edelgard counting?

“Good. If you don’t mind, I’m off to find Ashe.”

Edelgard listened around her, and then laughed. “Dimitri, I think you’ll find he’s out of the woods. Can you hear?”

Dimitri frowned, and tried to listen. “No.”

“Well, there’s a girl talking excitedly about how happy she is to see Ashe again.” Edelgard smirked, and Dimitri’s face fell.

“Right, of course. I’ll go immediately.” He set off behind Edelgard, and she turned around to see where he had gone.

“Turn a bit more to the right, you’re heading in the wrong direction.” Dimitri huffed, and then set off in Edelgard’s direction. “Ungrateful.” She got up, and saw she had a graze on her leg. “Who even pulls people’s legs? Idiot.” She went off in the direction of her quad bike, and resolved to get him back next time she saw him. She could still hear the kids cheering, and wondered why on earth there were kids at Dimitri’s farm.

++++

Dimitri found his way back to the ranch, and saw Ashe sitting on the ground, wearing a sweaty white t-shirt and black shorts. “I saw this little girl with green hair over there! She looked so cute…”

“Little? Like, how little?” Annette answered, giggly. She was wearing a sundress with little white clouds on a blue background, and had her rain boots on. She had been hauling horse excrement, but it was amusing to see her in her boots and dress doing such menial work.

“Like, shorter than you!” Ashe laughed.

“That’s reeeeal short…” Sylvain commented, a smile on his face. “Can we go back and see her?”

“She’s too young for you, idiot.” Felix slapped Sylvain’s back, and Sylvain coughed. “Go for someone who doesn’t mind you doing a Florida Man impression in bed with them.”

“I would never!!!” Sylvain clutched his heart, acting hurt, and fell down. “Me? Florida man?”

“You’re from Miami,” Ingrid said dryly. “You are, literally, Florida Man.”

“Awwww,” Sylvain moaned. “Shit.”

“Ashe, are you alright?” Dimitri moved next to him, and saw Ashe grinning.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you okay? I heard a girl shouting out there!”

“That was Edel-bitch, don’t worry.” Dimitri huffed.

“What was she doing out there?!” Ingrid said, turning to Dimitri. “Surely she knows this is _our_ farm, right?”

“Well, Dad called her.”

A silence settled over the group. “Damn, he doesn’t even trust you enough to find Ashe yourself,” Sylvain said quietly. Felix slapped him again, and Sylvain yelped.

“Yeah. He doesn’t.” Dimitri sighed.

“Cheer up!” Annette said. “At least Mercedes didn’t hear you say the b-word and tell you off again.”

“Yes… where is she?”

“Praying?” Sylvain said with a snort.

“She’s actually still doing stock take on the grain.”

“Oh.” Sylvain frowned. “Huh. She’s working hard.”

“Your father,” Annette said, turning to Dimitri, “is paying for her to chaperone us after all. She wants to work hard to go, unlike some of us.”

“You’ve done a lot Annette,” Dimitri commented. “You’re a regular expert with the horses.”

“You know, my grandparents do live on a farm in Montana! That’s the only reason why…”

“And Ashe, you’ve been invaluable with the farm machinery.”

“Thanks Dimitri,” he said shyly. 

“I’m shocked you two are even friends with the rest of us, considering how lazy we are.”

“Don’t lump me in with these two!” Ingrid shouted. “I’ve done work!”

“You cleaned _one_ water tank, Ingrid,” Sylvain commented.

“And you’ve been banned indefinitely from using the WiFi because you were trying to mine bitcoins on the farm management computer!”

“Not my fault there’s money to be made,” Sylvain said grumpily.

“At least try and help us move the cows this afternoon,” Felix grumbled.

“Maybe.”

“Sylvain.”

There was a pause. “What?”

“Do you want to pay for this entire trip out of your own pocket? Or worse, get left behind?”

“Don’t forget that if you don’t come, Mercedes won’t have to come and I’ll be sad.” Annette frowned.

“Okay! Fine!” Sylvain sighed, and got up. “The Florida Man will live to work another day.”

“Thank you Sylvain,” Dimitri said kindly. Sylvain stomped off, and Dimitri sighed. “Back to work, guys…”

++++++++

Far away from the warring farms was a pink haired girl lying on a lounger on the porch of the von Riegan house. It was a sprawling house, in the style of a Southern mansion, made especially for massive visits from extended family, work colleagues, or friends of the family. Right now, the von Riegan parents were away, and Claude, their only son, had his friends staying at the ranch.

“Lorenz, fetch me some lemonade,” the pink haired girl said to a boy with a crude purple bowl cut. “This one’s getting… lukewarm.”

Lorenz sighed as he made his way inside, to where Claude was preparing some lunch. “Claude, the Princess wants some lemonade.”

“Well Lorenz, are you gonna get it or not?” Claude laughed as he turned to Lorenz, sweat dripping from his brow. “I know she can be a bit prissy, but Mom and Dad said to treat her well. After all, the Gonerils are our best friends!”

“It’s awfully Shakespearian,” Lorenz said tiredly. “Goneril? Regan? King Lear?”

“You know I only take American Lit!”

“I know.” Lorenz sighed as he went to the fridge. “Well, here we are. Some lemonade.”

“Lor-enz!” Hilda shouted from outside. “I’m dehydrating!”

“How long is this going to last for?” Lorenz asked weakly, looking outside.

"The temperature?"

"No, Pinky-Pie. Funnily enough, the weather's merely an annoyance compared to her complaining."

“Well, once everyone’s back for lunch hopefully we’ll be able to lock her inside so we can have a summer vacation!”

“Working on your ranch is hardly a summer vacation.”

“But college costs money!” Claude laughed, and as Lorenz attempted to walk outside, Claude stretched his arms out and leaned against the cabinets next to him, abs poking out from under his top. “Plus, taking you out on dates is kind of expensive…”

“Claude.” Lorenz turned around, and gave him a dry look. “I appreciate you’re trying to give me something to look at once I’m outside, and gazing inside at your 8 pack, but right now? I need to make sure Miss Valentine Goneril isn’t going to murder me.”

“She won’t.” Claude straightened up, and started walking towards Lorenz. “Just one kiss?” He put his hand in Lorenz's.

Lorenz sighed. “Just one.” He leaned in, and rested his forehead against Claude's.

Just after Claude’s hands had snaked into Lorenz’s hair, and just before Lorenz’s lips touched his, Hilda decided to make her presence known.

“The proletariat are coming! Lorenz, where is my lemonade?!”

“Coming!” Lorenz sighed, and Claude’s face scrunched up as he pouted at him.

“If this is going to be the summer of near kisses for much longer, I may as well just elope with you somewhere in the mansion.”

“After lunch, we’re working on repairing the shed, right? We can elope there..."

“Yeah.” Claude backed away, and sighed. “I’ll see you there?”

“Please.” Lorenz looked out at Hilda, turned around in her chaise, glaring at them both. “I can’t stand a moment more of this.”

As Lorenz sped out to give Hilda her lemonade, Claude sighed. Hilda’s family, like his, was rich enough to give their kids generous allowances each week. Families like Ignatz’s or Raphael’s were… poorer than theirs, to say the least. Lorenz was desperate to work on the ranch so that he could meet with Claude at night, but Claude always worried about whether Hilda would notice. Of course, most people brushed off their closeness as being because they were best friends, but sometimes, when Claude’s shirt was off and Lorenz’s hands were all over him, they found themselves too terrified to do anything more than whisper and gently touch each other, even though they were desperate for any kind of closeness.

“Claude!” A voice called, and he turned around to see Leonie at the door. “Hey there, you look like you could use a hand.”

“A hand?” Claude laughed. “The sandwiches are in the fridge, I’ve finished the fruit salad, and I just need to juice some oranges. Won’t take too long, of course…”

“You’ve got so much fruit growing here,” she responded. “Will you ever run out of oranges?”

“You’ll find out in a month’s time, when we’re all out, I guess.” Claude laughed, and saw everyone else coming inside. “Want to eat in the sun, or in the shade?”

“Shade, oh my gosh,” Leonie replied. “I’m getting an amazing tan, but it’s fierce out there!”

“Almost as hot as like… Texas,” Lysithea said behind Leonie, suddenly appearing. “Or something. Somewhere.”

“It's probably hotter than Minnesota,” Claude said absentmindedly.

“For the last time, I’m from Wisconsin!” Lysithea hissed, and Claude blinked, realising his mistake.

“Sorry, sorry, it won’t happen again.” Lysithea was always touchy about being from Wisconsin, even though it seemed barely relevant to anything. Oh well, living in the Midwest did mean you wanted to think about literally anywhere else as much as possible...

“Claude!” Ignatz popped up behind the pair. “Where are we eating?”

“Gaah!" Claude jumped. "A shady spot somewhere, I guess? Could you tell Raphael to mo–”

“Raphael! Can you move the giant umbrella?”

“Great, thanks, awesome.” Claude grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl next to him, and tossed it in his hand. “Where’s Marianne?”

“She’s still moving the last few cows,” Leonie said offhandedly.

“What?!" Claude frowned. "What’s she still doing out there?”

“Well, she’s on Hilda duty next, so I think she’s hoping to avoid her for as long as possible,” Lysithea replied.

“Can you not say that so loud?” Claude looked out the window at Hilda, and saw her talking to Lorenz. Phew. Safe.

“Sorry.”

“Anyway–”

“Claude!” Raphael shouted, poking his head above the girls. “Can I help move some food outside?”

“Yeah, may as well,” Claude said tiredly. “Just… move it. Please. I’m so tired.”

“Okay!” He bumbled into the kitchen, and slipped past the girls, opening the fridge. “Oooh! Cold... and so many sandwiches…”

“Let’s get things moving!” Leonie shouted. “Ignatz, you grab the fruit salad! Lysithea, get the juice!”

“Uhh, Leonie? I’m already making the jui–”

“Wait for him to finish!”

“Leo–”

“I’ll be getting the tables ready!”

“Looooorenz!” Hilda yelled. “This is already warm! Maybe if you stopped talking to Claude so much–”

“I was trying to find it–”

“Oh, these sandwiches look so good!”

“Raphael, don’t eat the sandwiches!”

“You stole some pineapple, Lysithea!”

“I have to wait for Claude!”

“Hold on, everyone! Wai–”

“Aaaah!” A loud crash sounded, and a whimper from Ignatz followed soon after. Hilda perked up in her chaise as she turned around, and stifled a laugh.

“Ignatz, you just spilled fruit on Marianne!”

"No shit, Sherlock..."

“Oh no…” Ignatz luckily didn't drop most of the fruit, but there were a few itinerant pieces of watermelon on the ground.

“Ignatz! Oh my god!”

“Marianne, are you alrigh–”

“Please, I’ll change.”

"Get it moving people!"

"Excuse me!" The blue haired girl darted away, and Claude frowned.

"Can someone get some juice?"

"It's fine, just grab some water while Claude does it!"

"Does anyone know where the ice cubes are?"

"Cheese!!!"

"I'm gluten free!"

"We know that Hilda! Here's some gluten free sandwiches!"

"You know bread has carbs, right?"

“Hey guys? Guys?” Before Claude knew it, everyone was gone, either outside or to change, and he sighed. It was too hard to keep up with his friends. Far too hard.

++++++

Lunch at the Church of Seiros Ranch was usually a calm affair, but today Seteth was cooking pasta for lunch and everyone was a bit frazzled by the heat.

“Brother, how is lunch going?” Flayn asked, sidling up to him in the kitchen. “I have been looking after the horses all morning with Cyril and Gilbert, and Catherine said that this afternoon she can take me on the tractor to see how irrigation works!”

“It is going fine, Flayn.” Seteth was dressed in robes, a terrible choice given the heat, and his beard wasn’t helping matters. Thick drops of sweat slipped down his forehead, and his hands seemed shaky. “Please prepare the table for lunch.”

“How long will it take?” Flayn asked tiredly as Rhea, the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Seiros, came into the room.

“Patience is a virtue, Flayn,” she said a little bit too reverently for a lunchtime argument.

“It’s so hot,” Flayn complained, “and Cyril has gone to play on the trampoline, and told me I couldn’t go on because I was a girl!”

“That’s okay, I’m sure you can go out and play with the hose after lunch.”

“Hm.” Flayn set out the placemats, a bit tired of being treated like a child. So what if the trampoline was the only fun thing in the house, since Seteth discovered inappropriate websites existed on the computer and would not let her on it? “What was happening at the church this morning?”

Rhea always went out in the mornings for various church related things, and she sighed. “It was the ‘Mothers Prayer Group,’ Flayn, and we talked through various scripture points.”

“Ah, yes. That sounds interesting.” Flayn got out cutlery, and wondered to herself why her father had deigned they stay at the church ranch over the summer. Surely, surely they would be able to go back home soon?

“You should help out at Vacation Bible School Flayn, I think it’d be interesting for a girl of your prudence, especially since the helpers this year seem a bit... tired.”

“I will have to see,” Flayn said noncommittally. Of course her brother would want her to go, but did she have to do nothing but pray and worship constantly?

“Hah!” A voice sounded from the hallway. “I wish I could still help at Bible School!”

“Catherine!” Flayn said excitedly, recognising the voice of her best friend.

“And Shamir, don’t forget.” Shamir appeared out of the corridor, in a vest and shorts. Catherine followed suit, in tan version of Shamir’s outfit, and with a bucket hat on her head.

“Shamir, yes! I’ve miss–”

“I have, Flayn.”

“Sorry brother… yes. I have missed you both.”

“It’s fine Flayn, and Seteth, don’t you think you can loosen up on the contractions?” Catherine gave Flayn a hug, and Flayn giggled. Shamir merely gave her a head pat, but Flayn appreciated it nonetheless.

“It is proper for her to speak like a lady. Not implying you’re not, but I would like for her to speak English the way her parents used to.”

Flayn sighed a secretive sigh, and went to the fridge. “Brother, we have no tomato paste.”

“Do we have Velveeta, Flayn?”

“Yes, but do we not usually have pasta with tomato?”

“We can get some from the store later,” Rhea said kindly. “In any case, I would like to talk to you all about something I’ve found to be a bit concerning. I’ll wait until Gilbert and Cyril come in, however.”

As Seteth was heaping steaming piles of pasta onto everyone’s plates, Cyril came in soaking wet. “Sorry everyone, I lost track of time on the trampoline.”

“It’s fine Cyril. Do you know where Gilbert is?”

“Gilbert realised we were out of lawnmower fuel, so he’s gone to the store to get some.”

“Good man. Anyway, please come. Sit.” She stood up as Cyril sat down next to Flayn, and she began. “It has been brought to my attention that our neighbouring farms seem to have a lack of parental oversight. The Bladdiyds are still staying at the ranch, but the Hresvelgs and Vestras seem to be leaving their children in charge of their farmhands. And to make matters worse, the Riegans have left for a trip to Europe for most of the summer!”

“How did you hear of this?” Seteth asked Rhea nervously, quivering at the thought of teenagers of Flayn and Cyril’s age being left to their own devices.

“Jeralt at the general store told me that Hubert came in earlier for some tractor oil, and admitted to being without much parental oversight, as they’re both working, and Edelgard’s parents are looking after her senator grandfather upstate. Byleth then admitted that the von Riegans came in for some Corn Nuts before travelling to the airport! Luckily, Mrs Blaiddyd came to prayer this morning, so I know she’s accounted for.”

“Good Lord.” Seteth blanched. “I would not trust teenagers these days alone in a house by themselves over time.”

“Brother, I am sure they are perfectly reasonable.”

“Hmm. Perhaps we should make sure they are acting within the reasonable bounds of the Church.”

“Seteth, I think that’s going a bit far,” Shamir said quietly. “We need to get them to trust us, so if something goes wrong we can help them. That _is_ what Jesus would do, correct?”

“Yes, it is.” Rhea smiled warmly at Shamir. “Seteth, I understand your concern, but rest assured that trust is what we should be working towards.” She turned to Cyril, and Cyril frowned. “How about you go out with Flayn and Catherine today, and see if you can say hello to them?”

“Okay,” Cyril said quietly.

“I would love to!” Flayn agreed.

“I know, and that’s why I love having you here with us.”

“She _will_ be safe, right?” Seteth asked, concernedly.

“Of course. When has something ever gone wrong on my watch?” Catherine assured him.

“I will be fine, brother!”

“I am sure you will be.” He gave her a smile, but as soon as she turned to Catherine he gave Rhea a worried look. “I am worried about the influence of these teenagers.”

“Flayn’s strong in her faith. I’m sure that she’ll do just fine.”

“Well. Alright.”

Shamir, who’d been watching with interest, raised an eyebrow at Seteth. “You’re awfully protective of her.”

“Well, yes. As her brother, I ought to ensure that nobody can harm her.”

“It’s interesting, that’s all.” She leaned back in her chair, and sighed. “Catherine’s very conscientious. You don’t need to worry about them.”

“Indeed, but… I have been trying to protect Flayn from negative influences for most of my life. It would be foolish to stop now as she enters the most dangerous time of her life.”

“When I was Flayn’s age, I didn’t do anything too dramatic. Sure, I kissed a few boys,” Shamir said, internally laughing at Seteth’s shocked expression, “and lost a few friends, but by the end of it I was all the better for it.”

“Right. Yes.” He recomposed himself, and gave an awkward smile. “I am glad she is going out with Catherine, and not you, in that case. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“Right!” Rhea said, commanding attention of the table. “After lunch, shall we all get to our stations and work on making this ranch a small slice of heaven?”

“Surely that’s a bit blasphemous for a pastor to say,” Catherine said jokingly.

“It’s in the image of Jesus, so it's acceptable.” And with that, everyone went off, many things on their minds as they tended to the ranch.


	2. Nightfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude meet in the forest quite by accident, and change the fates of their summers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thanks for getting to Chapter 2. Luckily this update was fast, but with exams coming up they might not all be this fast.
> 
> Rating bumped up to Mature, just because things are kind of on the border between T and M but some implied things are definitely sending it into M territory.

It was nightfall, and Edelgard was awake in her bed. Due to the heat, she’d changed into her red sleep top and shorts combo, and had her hair in a high ponytail to stop her neck from getting sweaty (what a nice idea, she pondered to herself that night, to not be bathing in sweat). After a few hours of restless tossing and turning, she decided to give up and go for a walk. She put her sneakers on, and entered her hallway. She could see a light on in Hubert’s room as she went out the door and towards the forest, but it was the complete abundance of light coming from the farmhand lodge that caught her attention. She frowned, and went closer cautiously.

“Woooo!” A voice shouted, and she frowned sharply. Who could that be? A shirt flew off the balcony of the second story, and she glared at it. Moving quickly along the side of the lodge, she suddenly saw the culprit as she poked her head around the other side– Caspar. “Fucking yeet!!!”

“Don’t swear Caspar, oh my god!” Bernadetta’s voice could be heard.

“What if Hubert hears?” A burst of laughter, and Edelgard went closer. “The evil emo’s gonna get yooooou!” She could see Dorothea holding a can, and Petra behind her, laughing at Caspar’s antics.

“Bitchface von Vestra can yeet his meat!” Caspar made a vaguely inappropriate motion with his hips.

“Caspar, oh my god, he’s employing us!” That was Petra’s voice, but… strangely giddy? She was clasping onto Dorothea as if she was about to fall over, which, Edelgard realised, she might be.

“Haha, Petra! Still, he’s gonna be asleeeeeeep!”

Edelgard looked up, and sighed. The disrespect… She was supposed to be employing them, so why were they insulting her friend? And more to the point, why were they having more fun than her? Hubert would never take off his shirt and swear, or drink with her… 

She thought about Hubert, and sighed. Hubert didn’t tend to give into socially acceptable things, like drinking, swearing, and partying. When they were invited to a party by their classmate Sylvain, Hubert printed out the Facebook invitation, ripped it up, and then burned it. His parents found it hilarious, her parents posted on Facebook about it (complete with some laughing emojis from her uncles), and she told him that perhaps he didn’t have to make a scene next time. He was a bit dramatic, sure, but he was also desperate to have a point of view on something. It was bit lonely, now that she thought about it…

The farmhands up there weren’t lonely. A bit chaotic, sure, but they were having more fun than she would be even if Hubert bought them both some bubbly. If she and Hubert would have a night in with alcohol, it’d be nothing more than watching movies, eating food, and talking. Maybe even finding out what Hubert did on his laptop all day when the wifi data spiked. These guys? She sighed miserably. If they even talked about the internet, it’d go straight to something x-rated, she was sure…

“Is that FOMO I see?” an overly confident voice sung out.

“Aaah!” Edelgard jumped, and turned around to see Ferdinand von Aegir. “Hey! What the hell?” She straightened herself up, and sighed. “You don’t know what I’m going through right now.”

“Actually, I can tell.” He sighed. “You might hate me, but I’m right when I say you look like you wish you were up there partying with everyone else.”

She crossed her arms. “I’d at least like to have some privacy.” Edelgard huffed, turning around, only to feel a hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t really like partying all that much, so if you want to stay out here then that’s fine by me.” Ferdinand grinned, and Edelgard suddenly noticed an empty bottle in his hand.

“What are you holding?” she asked concernedly.

“Oh?” He turned it around in his hand. “I’ve finished this, but it was some cider.”

“So… you are kind of partying still.”

“Well, this was enough to convince everyone I’m drunk enough to have gone out into the woods and fallen asleep under a giant log, so they won’t worry when I come back in once they’re all asleep.” 

“Do you mean to say that you don’t like partying?”

Ferdinand put a hand on Edelgard’s shoulder, and smiled. “It’s adorable how little you know about partying, and how you don’t want to be there when the party dies down. Although, I guess it means there’s one thing I’m better than you at…”

“Hmph.” She gave him a cross look, but let him keep his hand on her shoulder.

“Knowing you, you’ll probably be able to keep up with Caspar just fine.” At that, Edelgard noticed Caspar was leaning precariously off the balcony, and Dorothea was drunkenly trying to haul him back up to no avail.

“I’m a bit worried about him actually…”

“It’s fine, he’s done this every night we’ve been drinking.”

“Which has been… how many?! What?!” Edelgard gawked at Ferdinand, and he laughed.

“Four.”

“W-what? How have we not heard you?!”

“We’re far away enough that you and your family don’t hear, and we haven’t broken anything. Our hangovers have been… fine too.” Ferdinand chuckled, wobbled, and Edelgard caught him worriedly. “Seriously. We’ll be fine. We’ve all drunk before together, and when we all got the job here we knew what we’d be getting into.”

“You… that would figure, but how do you know each other?”

“Fodlan High.”

“I didn’t know you all went.”

“Well… where else are people going to be studying?”

“Garreg Mach?”

“Pfft.” Ferdinand laughed. “Not everyone can afford to go there, the enrollment costs are through the roof!”

“Could any of you afford it?”

“Well, my dad’s a politician, but he wants me to not get too full of myself. Church each Sunday is enough religion in his eyes, and earning an allowance is humbling.” He snorted. “That’s why I’m here, although I think you’ll find everyone else here is actually working for money for themselves.”

“Ah. Right.”

Ferdinand wobbled again, and Edelgard laughed. “Don’t laugh at me, I’m a bit too tipsy to stand up, that’s all.”

“You’re kind of funny like this.” She paused. “Not as annoying as you usually are.” Edelgard was close enough to Ferdinand that she could smell how strongly his breath reeked of cider, and she frowned. “Are you going to be alright? I wouldn’t want you going anywhere right now.”

“Uh, yeah!” Ferdinand cleared his throat clumsily. “I’m fine. Honestly.”

“Then talk to me. Prove you’re not too drunk, and that I don’t have to haul you back in here in front of your friends.” She smirked, and Ferdinand laughed. “Tell me about how you know all of them.”

“Uhh…” Ferdinand began, “Caspar, Dorothea, and Petra do track, and Dorothea and I also do theatre… Bernadetta is a librarian, and Linhardt is in my homeroom… I see Bernadetta a lot when I’m studying… ugh, my head–”

“Ferdinand!” Edelgard grabbed him with her arms in an awkward embrace. “Keep talking, so if you pass out I’ll know.”

“’kay! Uhh… Caspar came to sit with Dorothea, Petra, and I at lunch in the library, and then Bernadetta joined us because she seemed really cute…”

“Go on…” Edelgard said, somewhat amused but interested.

“Then Linhardt started asking us about books we liked, and we told him to leave us alone, but he started sleeping at our table so we let him join in…”

“That’s… very him.”

“I know, he’s got like, 2 personality traits,” Ferdinand babbled, “but like, he’s really interested in genetics! I think he’s got autism but he’s really chill, and can bake a hell of a good banana cake. Uhhh… and uh, what were we talking about?”

“Your friends?”

“Yeah! Our rivals are the Golden Deer, who sit behind the theatre. They all like… smoke and stuff, or something. We just don’t like them because Hilda was calling Bernadetta a ‘pussy-ass bitch’ and then Dorothea told her to ‘eat a dick’ and then their leader came along so we left before we saw, but now whenever we see them we give them the fingers.”

“That’s… oddly complicated?”

“Yeah, but like, we like some of them. There’s one guy called Raphael whose little sister does theatre and she says he likes us but he’s scared of Hilda, and that their leader doesn’t mind us? But like… Hilda’s a bitch!”

“I hope I never have to meet this Hilda,” Edelgard noted.

“Yeah, she’s like… suck.”

“You sound more and more drunk. Do you want me to take you inside?”

“Not yet, I can’t let everyone see… but like, we like this girl called Marianne but it’s because Bernadetta sees her going into her doctors a lot so… yeah. You can’t hate sick people.”

“Ferdinand, you’re rambling.”

“Oh…” He blushed. “The ground’s wobbling.”

“Hold on, I’ll lower you.” Edelgard moved to put him down, but as she lowered him to the ground she saw a foreboding figure above her. “Huh? Hubert?”

“Oh no, it’s the evil emo!” Ferdinand bemoaned.

“Evil emo?” Hubert sighed, and Edelgard frowned. “Edelgard, this young man is a slovenly mess, and I suggest you go back to bed before he vomits on you. I’ll deal with him.”

“Hubert, he’s drunk. It’s fine. He’s just babbling.”

“It’s not fine. We’re hiring them to work for us, not to have hangovers that cause them to sleep in.” She could only see Hubert’s sharp features illuminated in the lodge’s light, and it only made his cross expression look inflamed. “I’d rather stop this now, so we can end this… babbling, as you call it.”

“We’re fine!” Ferdinand affirmed. “Seriously. We all cope fine, we’re all good, it’ll be fine. You’ll see in the morning! Plus,” he pointed to Edelgard, “she’s less of an ice queen than I thought. You however–”

“You’ve got a twig in your hair,” Hubert pointed out tactlessly, “and you can’t shut up. You are one step away from being sick. This is not fine at our ranch.”

“Put me to bed, and then check on us in the morning. If you’re not happy, you can tell us off then!”

“Hmm.” Hubert took Edelgard’s arm, and leaned into her ear. “I think perhaps you should leave me to put Ferdinand to bed. I didn’t appreciate the way he spoke to us.”

“Hubert, I can handle myself fine, and plus it was only you he was insulting.” Edelgard pulled away from him, and glared at him.

“He called you an ice queen. If Dimitri von Blaiddyd did that, you’d tell me to sort him out behind the auditorium, and I would do that for you. What is so different about Ferdinand?”

“There is a big difference, Hubert.” Edelgard went up to him, and squared up. “Leave him be. He’s drunk, and saying things he doesn’t mean.”

“I wish Poo-bert would shut up!” Caspar called ill-timely from the balcony.

“I’m just saying… drunk people are just uninhibited sober people.”

“I love you guys!” Ferdinand said, an uncontrollable lilt in his voice. “You’re my bosses, and you’re pretty nice most of the time! I mean… Edie is, you’re a bi–”

“What did you just almost call me?” Hubert growled.

“A bitch.”

“And her?” He paused.

“Someone’s jealous.”

The silence after that point was deafening. “Hubert, I’ll leave you to put Ferdinand to bed. Ferdinand… nobody calls me Edie. Usually.”

“It’s what Dorothea calls you when you aren’t listening. We do like you.”

“Thanks.” 

“Your behaviour leaves a lot to be desired,” Hubert unhelpfully added.

“You’re not my dad.”

“Right now? While you’re employed on my ranch? I’ll be your dad.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

“Ferdinand.”

Edelgard started walking away, and neither of them noticed. She could hear Hubert growling at Ferdinand once she’d gone past her house, and sighed. Her parents were bound to notice something. Since when did Hubert act like that? He’d never been that rude to anyone on her behalf before, and she didn’t really like it, especially when Ferdinand had been so nice to her.

She soon found herself in the forest, far away from both her house and the lodge. Images replayed in her head, and she could feel a sense of unfulfillment at leaving the party. Maybe people would like her if she went… by the sounds of it, people did like her, but she was on a different planet to them. She walked along, and sat on a tree stump that she’d cut down herself over spring. It was mostly to prove to herself that she was just as strong as the people around her, but also to vent her frustration with Hubert over an argument they’d had. Hubert was often prone to being overly critical of films they watched, and she’d had enough when he decided to do a film dissertation while watching “The Matrix.” She stormed out, and he’d found her chopping at the tree with an axe. Once she’d cut it down, they turned it into a small bench for outside their house, but the stump was hers alone.

She felt strange. Putting her head in her hands, she wondered whether Hubert was stopping the party, ruining their good relationships with the farmhands. Maybe Ferdinand would give him a dri– no. That wouldn’t happen. Hubert was anti-alcohol like pigs would fly. If you threw a pig– or a Hubert– far enough, maybe they’d fly for moments, but there would be nothing changed once they fell to the ground.

Did she want to… belong? She felt a sliver of wetness slide down her cheeks, and shivered. She wanted to at least feel wanted, she decided, and not just by her oddly-possessive best friend. She hoped she’d be able to talk to Ferdinand again, or at least Dorothea… she seemed nice, even if she hated Hubert. Another tear slid down her face, and she let the floodgates open as she sobbed, alone.

+~+~+~+~+~+~+

Dimitri had spoken to his father earlier that night. Once his friends had gone to bed, he’d gone up to the study, and hoped nobody would know he was secretly hurting.

“Edelgard’s got a good ear on her!” Father explained to him. “She’d be able to spot Ashe quickly, and get him back to safety. After your car accident…”

“Father, I _am_ able to do ordinary things these days. I could’ve found him.”

“You rushed into that forest blindly, foolishly. You would’ve gotten lost too, except that Edelgard saved you.”

Dimitri had no response, and felt his mind go blank.

“In any case, your friends won’t judge you for it. Nobody judges you for anything.”

“They do though. I’m too uptight at times.”

“Some of your friends,” Sylvain, he mentally thought, “are in need of someone uptight, to keep them in line. If anything, they see Mercedes as more uptight than you.”

“Mercedes went swimming in the spring today with us without complaining about profanity once… she doesn’t seem that uptight to them.”

“There’s no point in worrying about the past, Dimitri,” his father pointed out. “Just focus on the future, and getting your spring break money.”

“Will do.”

He left, slack jawed and tense. As he was prone to doing after anything stressful, he grabbed his flashlight and went into the forest to debrief. Only there, among the leaves and silence, would he be okay. His father’s words rang through his head, words of affirmation but hollowness, and he felt himself slowing down as he reached a clearing.

Night time was a safe time for him. In the dark, at least nobody can see your imperfections.

_“Whoa Dimitri, you sure you can drive like this?”_

He felt his body tense at the memory, but he sat down on the grass and looked up at the sliver of moon. He loved the moon, the only constant that wouldn’t judge him for his mistakes.

_“Keep an eye out!”_

He could feel the moon almost embracing him, and telling him it was okay, it was fine to be hurting. Its comfort was personal, but so distant. He couldn’t have known

_“Swerve! Dimitri!”_

that anything was going to happen. But at least the moon was cool on his skin, and he could hide for a bit in the shadows. He stretched his arms out, and

_Hot, fragmented pain across his arms and legs, his ears ringing with no sound_

felt tears escape from his eyes, warm and slick against his skin. His face went white, and his lips felt too smooth. Ground Dimitri, he thought to himself, ground yourself.

_A headache that was too sore to ignore._

He felt his weight move to his feet, then his calves, then his thighs. Through his groin, up his abdomen. Chest, then shoulder, arms, fingers, neck, face, head. Bother. He was going too fast again. He reset to his chest, and let his focus shift lazily across his body. Arms that were feeling too long, fingers that felt more like fins, webbed. The blood pumping through his ears, his head, his body, everything. He breathed in, letting his diaphragm expand, and then breathed out, letting out all of his worries, just like Dedue told him to do.

Good old Dedue. He understood completely when Dimitri would come to him, worried and panicky. They weren’t childhood best friends, like he and his other friends, but Dedue saw him panicking during an English presentation. He skipped class with him afterwards to sit with him in the nurses’ office, and told him some exercises he learned. Dimitri didn’t know how he knew them, but Dedue somehow just knew what he needed.

He wished Dedue was with him now, but Dedue was desperate to get out of his house for the summer. Come to think of it, Dimitri didn’t even know where Dedue lived, but he was at their fairly good school, so he must’ve been alright financially…

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone else crying. He sat up, moved by instinct rather than thought, to help them out. Who could it be? Ashe, perhaps? Annette, maybe? Whoever it was didn’t deserve to cry alone, with only the moon for company. He set off, deaf to the world, and in completely the wrong direction.

+~+~+~+~+~+~+

“Ugh!” Lorenz hissed as Claude found a particularly sensitive spot on his neck. “That feels nice…”

“That sounds like it’s nice for you too,” Claude whispered back. “Tell me if it starts to hurt.”

“It’s- It’s nice…”

“That’s what I said, dummy.”

“Fuck off Claude.” A shaky gasp.

“If I’d known your neck was so sensitive, I would’ve started sucking on it sooner.”

“Hhhh…” Another gasp, this one accompanied by a moan. “Claude, where are you finding these spots…”

“On your neck, silly!” Snort.

“Not. What. I. Nnnngh…” Lorenz sighed, and Claude took a momentary break to give a heady glance into Lorenz’s eyes.

“You’re enjoying this.” Claude’s hand slid down Lorenz’s chest, and Lorenz hissed as he felt Claude slide over his stomach.

“Why would I not be…” He gasped as Claude’s hand skimmed a bit lower. “It’s the first bit of alone time we’ve had all summer, knowing everyone’s been asleep.”

It had been a task, but everyone was making sleepy sounds as Claude and Lorenz left the house. Even Hilda was snoring, flanked by a sleep mask, so she couldn’t have seen them either. Claude had dragged Lorenz out to the forest, and had gotten him leaning against a tree with him. However, as they both got more feverish, they’d slid down the tree and ended up…

“So soft,” Claude whispered, his other hand sliding around Lorenz’s back. “I really don’t want to get any splinters on you…”

“I’m worried about your knees,” Lorenz whispered back tenderly, “and whether they’ll get hurt by the twigs down there.”

“You don’t need to worry about me,” Claude said throatily, “because you’re going to be screaming my name soon.”

“Claude…”

“Don’t start yet!” He laughed gently. “I haven’t even gotten–”

A twig snapped. “Your knees okay?”

“Shit. Shit.” Claude got back up, and cursed. “Fuck. We need to go back. Someone’s out here.”

“Someone? But everyone’s asleep? … Is it Hilda?”

“I don’t know, but no, those weren’t my knees snapping those twigs. I’d only started squatting at that point.”

“Crap.” Lorenz grabbed his shirt off the ground, and started breathing heavily. “If it’s Hilda, we’re fucking dead.”

“I don’t think we’ll even be fu–”

“Were you crying earlier?” A deep masculine voice sounded from the trees.

“Gah!” Claude screamed.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Lorenz said, trying to regain some composure. “We’re busy.”

“Sorry, but um… was it you both?”

“No!” Lorenz said grumpily. “Did it sound like we were crying?”

“You were crying out,” Claude joked. “Anyway… who even are you?” Claude asked, helping Lorenz’s shirt on him.

“I’m Dimitri, from the Blaiddyd ranch?”

“Dimi– you ran over my fucking cow!”

Silence followed. “I’m very sorry about that.”

Claude could remember the day like it was yesterday. His parents were at the entrance to the farm, and a blonde guy with a nice car was prone on the side of the road while his black-haired friend was running interference and his ginger friend was chatting up his mother. It was… a day. In any case, it was the only time Claude had talked to Dimitri. Two words.

_“Complete idiot.”_

“Leave him be,” Lorenz said, clothed and a bit less happy to be there than he was prior. “It was two years ago now. We’ve all grown up, and everyone’s apologised.”

“I have no idea how you total your car into a cow, Dimitri,” Claude grumbled, “but you did it. Congrats.”

“I’ll go back now, I don’t see much point in being here,” Lorenz said grumpily. “I’ll see you in the morning, Claude.”

“Wait, Lorenz!”

“Don’t follow me. It’ll be suspicious.” Lorenz gave him a look that even in the dim light screamed, “give me some space.”

“True…” Claude and Dimitri watched Lorenz go off, and Claude sighed. “Couldn’t you hear us talking?”

“I haven’t been able to hear very well since after the accident, so no.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, I’m sorry too.” Dimitri flicked on his torch, and Claude jumped. “Sorry… I probably should’ve turned this on before I started looking.”

“So… you heard someone crying.” Claude grinned. “What’s the bet that it came from a different part of the farm? Like, outside the forest?”

“I don’t know. Like I said, it’s kind of hard to hear these days.”

“I’ll come with you. I need to kill time anyway.” He looked back to where Lorenz was a distant figure, and cursed the fact he wasn’t even able to do what he’d been itching to do all day to him.

“Good.” Dimitri shone the torch on Claude, and Claude yelped. “Sorry, just wanted to check it was you, and not some… other Riegan.”

“I’m the only Riegan!”

“I know,” Dimitri said, “but I can’t tell very well these days.” He looked over Claude’s chest, and noticed it was covered with a sheen of sweat. “What were you doing out here?”

“Talking.” Claude crossed his arms, and Dimitri nodded.

“Fair. If I had someone to talk to, I’d do the same.” He wondered what kind of talking involved shirtlessness, but then his mind moved to more graphic concepts, and he quickly thought about eating rocks as he hoped Claude couldn’t see his… accidental reaction.

They started walking, and Claude asked, “so, do you drive these days?”

“Nope. Not since… you know.”

“Huh. No farm equipment?”

“That’s… different. But I do try not to.”

“Hmm, yeah. Your dad does seem like the kinda guy who’d make you keep driving though, so what gives?”

Panic attacks, tears, and overwhelming anxiety. “He was worried I’d crash into one of our cows.”

“Huh. That’s valid.”

If only you knew, Dimitri thought.

They kept walking until they could hear faint sounds, and they stopped, Claude turning off the flashlight and putting a finger to Dimitri’s lips. Dimitri blushed, but then he could hear faint crying. They moved slowly together, Claude’s finger still on Dimitri’s lips, when they saw a girl leaning against a tree trunk.

“You know her?” Claude whispered near-silently.

“She looks vaguely familiar,” Dimitri responded. “But who–?” She sat up, and looked at them, causing Dimitri to stop.

“Dimitri, I swear to god, if that’s you again I’m going to murder you.” Edelgard, light hair illuminated by the moonlight, was glaring a hole through his face.

“What did you do to her?” Claude said incredulously, and Dimitri winced.

“I thought she was my friend Ashe, so I pulled her legs out from under her.”

“Who even does that to their friends?!” Edelgard said crossly.

“Uh… me…”

“God,” she hissed. “And why’d you try and sneak up on me? Is this your friend?”

“Actually, I’m Claude, from the Riegan ranch.”

“Oh.” Edelgard gave him an uncertain look. “Why’re you here with him?”

“He stumbled on me while trying to find you, because he heard crying.”

“Claude…” Dimitri whispered, to no avail.

“Well, that’s nice of him I guess. I’m fine, just… tired.” She turned around, but Claude sat on the other side of trunk she was on. “What is it?”

“It seems odd, you know… We haven’t really seen much of each other since we were all kids,” Dimitri said.

“I wasn’t here when you guys were kids,” Claude clarified, “as I moved here 9th grade from Louisiana.”

“Oh. Whoops.” Dimitri said, curious.

“I guess that just proves your point,” Edelgard said coolly. “We don’t know each other, bar our interactions at school, which was frankly enough for me. Are you at Garreg Mach?”

“No, Fodlan High.”

“Huh.” Edelgard queried, “is it because of money, or…?”

“It’s because my parents wanted me to not have a religious education, you know? And I made friends with my high school buddies, and it was all good.” Claude’s body language was open, but Edelgard could tell he was irked.

“I wish I had that experience,” Dimitri said, “because going to church every school day gets exceedingly boring.”

“It’s interesting,” Edelgard noted. “I do like it.”

“That’s because you and Hubert get to lead prayers.”

“It’s actually because religion is really nuanced, and–”

“Okay, conversation change?” Claude said weakly. “I don’t like thinking about religion.”

“Fair,” Dimitri agreed. “So do you want to get to know each other better?”

“I think I speak for both of us,” Edelgard said, pointing to Dimitri and herself, “when I say that we want to know more about you.”

“Well, I’ve got my friends turned farm hands staying with me this summer, so there’s more than just me to get to know.”

“Ah! Same here!” Edelgard grinned.

“My friends are acting as ranch hands too,” Dimitri agreed.

“Oh, in my case they’re not my friends just yet. They all go to Fodlan.” Edelgard sighed, and Dimitri eyed her with interest. Why would that be?

“We can help with that,” Claude said amusedly. “Fodlan really is just like Garreg Mach, but with more memes.”

“What’s a meme?” Edelgard asked, as Dimitri gave her a withering look. “What? I don’t know, okay?”

“Never mind, I’ll introduce you to them.”

“So, is it your ranch that has the green haired farm hand?” Dimitri asked Claude, remembering Ashe’s recollection from earlier that day.

“Yeah, his name’s Ignatz! He paints a lot, and loves art in general.” Claude paused, realising he was rambling. “Have you seen him?”

“Umm.”Dimitri frowned. “Is he female presenting, green haired, with very wavy green hair, who smells of fish?”

“Oh, nope! That’s not Ignatz, he loves pastries. I’ve never seen him eat a fish.” Claude laughed.

“Huh, none of mine either,” Edelgard said quietly. “It could be from the Church’s ranch, you know.”

“God, please do not remind me,” Dimitri said a bit ironically.

“Same,” Claude said, wincing. “The amount of time that old green haired guy tells me to watch my mouth, or to look to Jesus… Blegh.”

“No, I mean as in, the headmistress lives there. The local pastor? Rhea?”

“Rhea?” Claude frowned. “Noooope, I’ve only seen that guy.”

“Well. That’s interesting.” Dimitri smiled. “Maybe we can try and find her over there, if she’s not with either of you.”

“Yeah,” Edelgard agreed. “So… how about we all meet somewhere and talk about how exactly this friendship thing is going to work?”

“Yeah, good plan,” Claude said. “My summer desperately needs some excitement.”

“Yes, midnight chats with your friends aren’t exactly thrilling summer activities,” Dimitri said sarcastically, “but we can help you with that.”

“Oh, about that.” Claude gave Dimitri a stern look. “Don’t go telling people about that, okay? That stays between us.”

“What happened?” Edelgard said, interested.

“Uh… something.” Claude said vaguely. “Dimitri, if you say anything...”

“Okay! Okay!” Dimitri said, backing away from him and into a tree. “Ah… anyway. Is this just because we’re lonely, or?”

“I’m not lonely,” Edelgard affirmed, “but I want to get to know everyone, and enjoy these 2 and a bit months.”

“It’s 2 months now,” Claude said with a laugh. “So… we’d better get on it fast. Are we doing competitions, or what?”

“I think that’d be fun,” Edelgard said, trying to think. “I mean, we don’t know each other, and apparently we all have connections to each other.”

“Plus, maybe we can bully the church!” Claude said cheerfully.

“Um. Perhaps not,” Dimitri said cautiously, “as I’d hate to get smited before the heat really kicks in.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. Tomorrow night?” Edelgard offered. “The spring? I can’t think of anywhere else that’s central to all of us.”

“Good plan.” Dimitri straightened himself up. “Be there, or be square, I guess.”

“We’ll be there,” Claude agreed. “I’ll bring some drink if I can grab some.”

“Good thinking,” Edelgard agreed.

“Well, I wouldn’t have taken you for a drinker,” Dimitri said suspiciously, eyes narrowed. “Religion, and that.”

“Where does it say in the Bible that you can’t drink?”

“Huh, you aren’t as uptight as you look,” Claude noted, causing Dimitri to tense up.

“Good point.” Dimitri grinned, hoping nobody noticed his pain. “See you then?”

“See you then.”

“See you!”

With that, the three left to go their separate ways, wondering how on earth things had managed to end up this way, towards a quasi competition. Claude snuck back into bed, missing Lorenz, Edelgard went to her room, noting Hubert’s light was still on, and Dimitri got a bit lost before finding his way back to his house, the word “uptight” bouncing around his brain.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you want me to churn out content faster please be patient, because I'm plotting and writing whenever I've got spare time!


End file.
